the Bulgarians, who added a goose-step to their fascist salute for good measure.
To Martha’s surprise, the French also received hearty applause, even though they acknowledged the Honor Loge not with the Hitlergruss, with the arm raised to the front, but with the traditional Olympic salute, with the right arm lifted to the side.
“It’s unfortunate the two salutes look so much alike,” Martha said to Thomas. “The Nazis will interpret it as they please.”
The United Kingdom avoided any misunderstanding. Their athletes kept their arms at their sides, swinging in time with the march, and when they passed before the Führer, in union they acknowledged him with a crisp “eyes right.” A faint smattering of applause was nearly drowned out by jeers, but as far as Mildred could tell Hitler betrayed no reaction.
Then came the United States, the penultimate team before the host country. The Americans eschewed the traditional salute and did not dip their flag to Hitler in passing, but rather removed their boater hats, held them over their hearts, and kept their eyes fixed on the Stars and Stripes. A harsh roar of protests and catcalls rained down from the stands, but the American athletes strode on without flinching, proud and purposeful.
Martha clapped until her hands stung, as did everyone else in the embassy box, ignoring the grumbles and sidelong looks of those seated around them.
“What did the Nazis expect?” said Thomas. “If the Yanks didn’t dip the flag to the British king at the London Games in 1908, they certainly weren’t going to do it for Herr Hitler today.”
The crowd’s disgruntlement quickly gave way to exultation as the German team marched in behind a large swastika banner. The orchestra played the German national anthem again, followed immediately by the “Horst Wessel Lied,” to thunderous applause and ecstatic cheers from the home crowd.
“Sport as political theater,” Thomas drawled as the ceremonies continued, through a lengthy speech by the president of the German Olympic Committee to the swift and triumphant entrance of the last Olympic torchbearer. “When the Games are through, everyone will carry home the impression that Germany is the most hospitable, peace-loving nation on earth, if you can overlook all the martial flourishes.”
Martha shared his wary disgust, but in the days that followed, that was not enough to keep either of them away from the competitions. She invited several other friends to join them in the embassy box, and Mildred often accepted. The recent publication of her translation of Irving Stone’s Lust for Life had taken some of the sting out of the closing of the Abendgymnasium, but Martha knew she worried about finding a new job. Martha hoped the Olympics would provide a restorative distraction.
Mildred was very glad to see Thomas again, and he seemed even more delighted to reunite with her—as he should be, Martha thought, given the glowing articles Mildred had written about him. As the days passed, the three friends observed and quietly discussed Hitler at least as much as the sporting events. Hitler evidently enjoyed track and field, for he attended nearly every day. Whenever a German athlete won, he beamed, slapped his thighs, and applauded with great enthusiasm. When the gold medalists approached his box to be congratulated, as was the custom, he sprang to his feet and received them with warmth and good humor.
Not so when athletes from other nations took the gold.
On one particularly successful day for the United States, the Stars and Stripes were raised at least five times, almost in succession, and everyone in the stadium was obliged to stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner”—including the Führer, who saluted with his arm outstretched and a surly expression that worsened with each repetition, even more so if the victor was colored. Day after day Hitler was subjected to marvelous performances by American athletes, including thrilling races won by Jesse Owens, the Alabama native who had broken three world records and tied a fourth as a student at Ohio State. His astonishing speed and physical prowess quickly won over the crowd, but whenever Owens or another colored American athlete won, the Führer conveniently managed to be away from his box when they came to receive his congratulations.
This had not escaped the notice of Martha and her friends, and they fixed the Führer with hard, indignant looks as he left his box soon after Owens won the gold medal in the 100 meters. “The Americans should be ashamed of themselves, letting Negroes win their medals for them,” Hitler remarked to his Gruppenführer Baldur